billh

Can you get to Guide Bridge, a mile from Portland Basin? At our yard, Steve K. has an HR2 with Blackstone box in his boat, he might know the fix? Maybe, just walk down without the boat for a chat, pretty sure he will be there today. Postcode M34 5HW. Bill

Examples: Malvern, Clee,Bernard, Jimmy....?

On this topic of engine ID: A mate has an SR3 in his narrowboat, it came from a small fishing vessel in Scotland. The embossed engine number plate is missing and he can't find (or perhaps see) a number stamped on the flywheel within the casing. Is there anywhere else on the engine to look for the serial number etc? The reason he wants to know is he bought a nice brass Lister works plate and wants to stamp the correct engine number on it to display in the engine compartment. Thanks in advance.

I have recently been using various Sherwin-Williams 2 part epoxy paints. They all had a date code on and all pretty much past their use by date as recommended by the manufacturer. The oldest paint definitely takes longer to cure and in an extreme case was several weeks. They did however all set ok in the end. Most of the slow curing was noticed with the primer paints, top coats seem to be much better.These two part paints do not skin over in the tin.

The bridge in the lower pic is known locally as "th'Iron Donger" If you would pardon the expression!

Moored here overnight a couple of weeks ago .View out the back cabin in the morning with the mist and rain it was easy to imagine we were on a Scottish Loch, just missing the lone piper and a few stag *. Over the towpath wall is the railway's eastern approach to Summit tunnel, requiring all train horns to be sounded, so the illusion is somewhat spoiled. The Rochdale Canal is a sleeping beauty, sadly neglected by the authority charged with its maintenance. * There were some highland cattle somewhere near Mytholmroyd!

Polycarbonate, not perspex, is excellent and almost unbreakable, I have used it for all sorts of things,might be possible to use a hole-saw without the pilot in a drill press? Failing that, Manchester Glass in Denton have made double glazed laminated porthole units for us a while ago, not expensive either. It might be a bit of a faff for such a small size.

I think they still have one or two on the books. I recall Gailey on a lock gate replacement job on the Ashton Canal ,3 or 4 years ago. Hercules was about not long ago as well.

My Uncle does regular litter picks on the Macclesfield Canal near his home, on his own, not part of any organisation. He's turned ninety and obviously a great bloke.🙂

As another operator of those old boats,did you notice the recently repaired top gate cills on some locks have the holding down studs and nuts protruding above the cill by a couple of inches instead of recessed into the wood? So, low water level and a boat catches a stud, bends it and loosens the cill, canal closed. Recessed studs, boat slides over smooth top of cill, no problem. Happen it's the same with bottom gate cills, but you don't usually get to see them.None of this does the boat bottom any good either ,especially wood ones. And another thing: low water and we didn't get stuck on a cill, it was very obvious that a stop plank had been left in the grooves at the head end of a lock, can't remember which one.I know that makes for ease of sealing when planks next have to go in, but not helpful from a navigation point of view.

There was glimpse of a notice on the side of the ship: "NO TUG", that could explain a lot 😀

Well,it was re-opened (again) this week so some progress. I do hope all the GUCCCos are clearing the channel for us?

The LNER "Western Canals", Ashton,Peak Forest and Macclesfield had around 22 boats on maintenance work, also 7 ice breakers during its 25 year existence. The canal department were required to annually submit a list of boat assets to the District Engineer at Guide Bridge station. The ice boats were of iron construction built in the workshops of the MS&L railway in the 1860's. All other boats were wooden and maintained at either the Gorton canal workshops or under a contract with Jinks' boat yard at Marple top. Not all the boats were serviceable at any one time , some reported as "sunk" at various places. Contrary to popular opinion, the LNER maintained their canals reasonably well, considering there was little traffic, the steam dredger "Joseph" was a powerful machine and was kept at work most of the time. Just after nationalisation, Joseph was scrapped and replaced with a tiny bucket chain dredger of the chocolate fireguard type and dredging virtually finished. Scotia shown above at Fairfield Top had a picture of the LNER's pacific Flying Scotsman painted on the front bulkhead. Engine was a National diesel made in Ashton under Lyne . There were only two motors in LNER times, this and Joel, a weed-cutter( petrol-engine powered?) boat appeared around 1944. Bill

A speedy post posting edit there eh?